Overview of the distribution and industrial development of loquat germplasm resources in Guizhou

Abstract: Guizhou has a prominent three- dimensional climate, abundant wild loquat germplasm resources and significant differences in traits. According to the survey from Lin Shunquan et al., there are six species of loquat in Guizhou, namely common loquat, large- flowered loquat, small-leaved loquat, narrow- leaved loquat, narrow- leaved mutation loquat and Tengyue loquat. At present, our research group has found three species of common loquat, large-flowered loquat and small-leaved loquat, which are preserved in the Loquat Germplasm Resource Nursery of Guizhou Province. Common loquat is widely distributed in whole Guizhou province, with large flower loquat mainly distributing in Leigong mountain, southeast Guizhou, and small leaf loquat mainly distributing in Xingyi City, southwest Guizhou. The distribution characteristics of wild Eriobotrya plants are as follows: from northeast to southwest, the tree types change from“small tree”or“small tree-tree”to“tree”, the leaves change from small leaf to large leaf, the back hairs change from dense to thin, and the leaf edges become wider. Thesize of the inflorescence changes gradually from small to large, the arrangement closeness between the branches and flowers changes from tight to loose, the branches change from falling and curling to flat and sloping up, the branches become slender, and the shape of the inflorescence changes from short conical to long conical. The soluble solid content, total sugar content and solid acid ratio in the fruit show the trend of high to low, and the leaf spot resistance from strong to weak. Commercial cultivation of loquat in Guizhou province began around 1958, and Qiandongnan Prefecture took the lead in introducing fine varieties from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces for cultivation experiments. In the middle and late 1980s, Guiyang City, Qiannan Prefecture, Qianxinan Prefecture and other prefectures (cities) successively carried out introduction experiments and small- scale promotion and application. By 2010, there were over 10 000 acres of large-scale planting in areas such as Guiyang, Qiandongnan Prefecture and Bijie City. Especially since 2015, the rapid development of loquat plantings and production in various parts of Guizhou has taken place. By 2022, the planting area of the loquat in the province reached 23 000 hm2 , the annual output was 163 000 tons, the output value was 1.71 billion yuan, and the shelf life of loquat was more than two months. Among them, the planting area of Qiandongnan Prefecture was about 2100 hm2 , with an annual output of about 10 500 tons and an output value of about 137 million yuan. The planting area of Qianxinan Prefecture was about 5600 hm2 , with an annual output of about 42 600 tons and an output value of about 342 million yuan. The planting area of Qiannan Prefecture was about 4300 hm2 , with an annual output of about 17 200 tons and an output value of about 248 million yuan. The planting area of Guiyang City was about 6200 hm2 , with an annual output of about 50 000 tons and an output value of about 650 million yuan. Anshun planting area was about 3300 hm2 with output of about 30 600 tons and an output value of about 243 million yuan or more. The planting area of Bijie City was about 1 066.7 hm2 , with an annual output of about 10 100 tons and an output value of about 102 million yuan. Other planting areas accounted for about 500 hm2 , with output of about 1600 tons and output value of 12 million yuan. However, the cultivation technology and management levels are still relatively low, and the increase in area is not proportional to the increase in yield. The average commodity yield in the province is less than 500 kg per mu, and there are a lot of rooms for improvement. The main reasons for this situation are as follows: Firstly, there is the lack of local standard introduction, testing and popularizing system, and blind introduction is common, which results in confusing varieties, mixed good with bad, and low economic benefits; Secondly, there are several shortcomings including backward breeding technology, insufficient mining of germplasm resources with excellent genetic traits, shortage of resources available for breakthrough breeding, lack of dominant varieties with local characteristics, and weak market competitiveness; Thirdly, the loquat commodity market chaos exist, the brand creation and marketing strategy awareness are not strong, the competition in the industry sales is not formed; the post- production cold chain and deep processing technology of fresh fruits lags behind, and the added value by promoting sustainable development of the industry is limited. Finally, extreme weathers such as drought, flood, cold and hot summer, occur frequently, and the supporting conditions of mountain orchard facilities are lagging behind, and the ability to resist the natural risks is not strong. In brief, this paper mainly analyzes the distribution characteristics of loquat germplasm resources, introduction and breeding, cultivation technology evolution, industrial development and constraint conditions in Guizhou, and puts forward the main tasks of the current and future development of loquat in Guizhou, so as to promote the high-quality development of Guizhou loquat, and help the revitalization of rural industry in Guizhou.